Laing O’Rourke founder to become chairman

Ray O’Rourke, the founder and ex-chief executive of Laing O’Rourke, will take over as the group’s new chairman in April.

O’Rourke (pictured), who founded the firm in 1977, will take over from Sir John Parker, who is stepping down on 31 March.

Parker is leaving the post after eight years as Laing O’Rourke’s chairman, the firm announced in a statement.

O’Rourke initially took up the position of deputy chairman when he stepped down as chief executive last year, making way for his son Cathal.

In a statement today (12 February), O’Rourke said: “I am looking forward to working with my son, our group CEO, Cathal O’Rourke and our board members as we continue to implement our strategy to push the boundaries of modern construction – which is the only way to change the nature of the work we do.

“I have spent my entire career in this industry, spanning some 50 years, and I believe it is the best industry there is, but I also know, now is the time to make the step change needed to improve the way we deliver major infrastructure.”

Before his appointment as group chairman of Laing O’Rourke, John Parker was chairman at Anglo American. His association with the construction contractor will continue in an “ambassadorial role”, O’Rourke said.

Parker said: “I have every confidence that Laing O’Rourke will continue to build on its recent successes and achieve its goal to transform the business and the wider sector for future generations.”

Laing O’Rourke is the fourth-biggest contractor in the UK in the CN100 2024 rankings, and it was named as one of Construction News’ 10 companies to watch this year.

Its latest accounts, covering the year to 31 March 2024, showed an 18 per cent jump in turnover to £3.99bn.

The firm also returned a pre-tax profit of £18.1m as it recovered from a £288.1m loss the year before.

Last September, Cathal O’Rourke told CN that succeeding his father at the helm would be closer to “evolution rather than revolution”.

The latest announcement follows a period of change at the firm, after its former chief financial officer Rowan Baker left in September. She joined Essentra, and was replaced by Paul Teasdale, who was then the finance director for Laing O’Rourke’s Australia business.